Translation:Report on the bases of proportional representation

by the New comittee of Constitution, said “Sieyès-Thouret Comittee”

Mr. Thouret, in the name of the new committee of constitution, presents to the National Assembly a report on the basis of proportional representation.

Gentlemen, the work that your new committee has the honor of submitting to you, is based, through a double report, on two major parts of the Constitution.

On the one hand, you are organizing representative government, the only kind suitable for a free people; but its justice and stability depend on the establishment of proportional equality in representation, and of a fixed and simple order in elections.

On the other hand, you want to found a new system of administration, municipal and provincial. This administration, equally representative, requires both proportional representation and an order for the elections.

This similarity between the two objects establishes, by the nature of the thing itself, the importance of founding on common bases the double edifice of the national representation, and of the municipal and provincial administration.

This truth, so appropriate at once, to strengthen the different parts of the Constitution, by binding them together, and to facilitate its execution forever by simplifying it, is the first one that struck us. Following the thread it presents, we came to the conviction that the organization of each large district of the kingdom must be constituted in such a way that it serves at the same time both for the formation of the Legislative Body and for that of the various classes of administrative assemblies. This is how all the movements of the body politic will originate from a common jurisdiction; in this way, the preservation of this unique jurisdiction will be all the more dear to the people, since by losing it they would lose all the advantages of their Constitution; in this way, its destruction would become more difficult for the authority, which could only break it by completely disorganizing the State.

The committee thought that the bases of the representation must be, as far as possible, in reason composed of the territory, of the population and of the contributions. Before saying how these three bases can be combined to establish between the various elector districts the right proportion of their deputations, it is necessary to present, on each of the three, some particular developments.

Territorial basis.

The kingdom is divided into as many different divisions as there are different kinds of regimes or powers: into dioceses, for ecclesiastical purposes; into governments, for military purposes; into generalities, for administrative purposes; into bailiwicks, for judicial purposes.

None of these divisions can be usefully or properly applied to the representative order. Not only are there too many disproportions in the extent of territory, but these ancient divisions, which no political combination has determined, and only which alone can make tolerable, are vicious in many respects, both public and local.

But since the order that the Constitution is going to establish is a new thing, why should we make it subject to ancient imperfections that contradict its spirit and hinder its effects, when reason and public utility demand that this double pitfall be avoided? The committee therefore thought that it has become indispensable to divide France, in the order of representation, into new divisions of territory equal to each other as much as possible.

The plan of these new divisions is projected figuratively on a map of the kingdom; you will see there, gentlemen, that one respected, as much as it was possible, the old limits, and the facility of the communications.

According to this plan, France would be divided, for elections, into eighty large parts which would be called departments.

Each department would be about 324 square leagues, or 18 leagues by 18. This division would be made starting from Paris as the center, and moving away from it, and on all sides, up to the borders.

To these eighty departments, one more should be added, formed by the central district where the city of Paris is located. This great city deserves indeed, by its title of metropolis, by its enormous population, and by its strong contribution, to have the title and rank of department.

Each department would be divided into nine districts, under the title of communes, each of thirty-six square leagues, and of six leagues by six. These large communes would be the true political units or elements of the French empire. There would be 720 in all.

Each commune would be subdivided into nine invariable fractions by the division of its territory into nine cantons, of four square leagues, or of two leagues by two; which would give in all 6,480 cantons. Each of these fractions could contain varying amounts, according to population and contributions.

France contains about 26,000 square leagues.

That is, 80 departments, of 324 square leagues;

720 communes, of 36 square leagues,

6,480 cantons, of four square leagues; each of these divisions fills the 26,000 leagues of the kingdom.

Personal basis, or of population.

The real personal basis for representation will be in the first level of assemblies that can be called primary.

The committee has taken care to establish a just proportion, first between these primary assemblies, which will be those of the citizens of each canton; then between the communal assemblies, composed of the deputies of the cantons; finally between the departmental assemblies, formed by the meeting of the deputies elected in the communes.

The number of individuals in France is about 26 million; but according to the calculations that seem most certain, the number of active citizens, after deducting women, minors, and all those who are deprived of the exercise of political rights for other legitimate reasons, is reduced to one-sixth of the total population. We must therefore count in France only about 4 million 400,000 citizens in a position to vote in the primary assemblies of their canton.

If the population were equal to each canton, the 26 million individuals distributed over 26,000 square leagues that make up the extent of the kingdom, would give 1,000 individuals per square league, and consequently 4,000 individuals per canton, of which the sixth in active citizens would form the average rate of about 680 voters per canton. We warn that by the expression voting citizens, we will always mean not only those who will be present, and will indeed vote, but also all those who will have the right to vote.

The population being unevenly distributed, one must not doubt that it will be in a great number of cantons below 4,000 individuals, and 680 voters: but what will be lacking in the average rate in the less populated cantons, will be found in excess in those which will be more populated, and will be used by means of the formation of double, triple or quadruple primary assemblies in these more populated cantons. One can feel that Paris is the extreme in this kind.

The committee thought that the primary assemblies should be established at an average rate of 600 voters, in order to avoid the disadvantages of too numerous assemblies.

There would always be a primary assembly in each canton, however small the population; but there could be two only when the number of voters would reach 900. In this case only, the assembly of a canton would be divided into two, so that there would always be at least 450 voters in each primary assembly.

If a further increase in population were to raise one of these assemblies to the number of 900, it would be necessary, before a third assembly could be formed in the canton, to transfer some of its members to the other assembly which did not have the average number of 600 voters, until the latter reaches reaches this average number. Conversely, if the reduced population reduced one of the assemblies below 450 voters when the other was not raised above this rate, they would be obliged to reunite, since the number of voters produced by this reunion would be less than 900.

It would thus happen, in the first case, that to whatever amount the primary assemblies could reach in a canton, there would never be more than two that could be below the average rate of 600 voters, or only one that could exceed it; and in the second case, that there would never be more than one assembly in a canton, when it would provide less than 900 voters.

It follows from the foregoing that there are three consequences:

The first, that if the number of cantons is invariable, it is not the same for the primary assemblies;

The second, that instead of fixing the number of primary assemblies at 6,480, because of the number of cantons, it is likely that they will be more numerous, because they will follow the vicissitudes of the population;

The third, that a citizen who changes neither canton nor domicile, may nevertheless find himself in the position of changing assembly, when it becomes necessary to multiply or reduce those of his canton.

Basis of contribution

The committee thought that the proportion of direct contributions should be included to some extent in that of the deputations.

It is only fair that the region that contributes the most to the needs and support of the public establishment should have a proportional share in the regime of this establishment.

It is also wise to interest the provinces in the payment of contributions, and in the internal improvements that will only increase the tax burden for them by increasing their political influence at the same time.

These first considerations were not the only ones to determine the opinion of the committee. It felt the need to have regard to the direct contributions, to rectify the inaccuracy of the territorial base, which is established only on the equality of the surfaces. An arpent of 50 pounds of income, and taxed on this rate, is really double of an arpent of 20 pounds of income, which is taxed only on this lesser product. Thus, the equality of territories by their superficial extent is only apparent and false if it is not modified by the balance of direct taxation, which re-establishes the equilibrium of values; and it is by this means that the basis of contribution is essentially linked to the territorial basis, and is part of it.

The ratio of contributions is null, no doubt, when it is a matter of balancing political rights from individual to individual, without which personal equality would be destroyed, and the aristocracy of the rich would be established; but this disadvantage disappears entirely, when the ratio of contributions is considered only by large masses, and only from province to province. It serves then to proportion justly the reciprocal rights of the cities, without compromising the personal rights of the citizens.

Formation of gradual assemblies for the Legislative body

I. All the active citizens of a canton shall form themselves into one or more primary assemblies, according to their number, as stated above, to send their deputies to the communal assembly.

The committee believes that for this first level of assemblies, the fundamental element of all representation, only the population should be considered. Each man, as soon as he is an active citizen, must enjoy for this first act, all the value of his individual right.

The district of a primary assembly is, moreover, too limited, and the preponderance of powerful men would be too immediate, for either the territory or the contributions to be taken into consideration. Thus, the number of deputies to be elected by the primary assemblies would be regulated only by the number of voters, at the rate of one deputy per 200 voters.

According to the data of 4,400,000 active citizens, there would be about 22,000 deputies elected by all the primary assemblies, and sent in unequal numbers to 720 communes.

The committee proposes that the qualities necessary to enter, as an active citizen, in the primary assembly of one's canton, are: 1° to be French, or become French; 2° to be of voting age; 3° to be domiciled in the canton, at least for one year; 4° to pay direct taxes, at the local rate of three days' work, which will be assessed in money by the provincial assemblies; 5° not to be, for the moment, in a servile state,^[1] that is, in personal relationships, too incompatible with the independence necessary for the exercise of political rights.

In order to be eligible, both for the assembly of the commune and that of the department, it will be necessary to meet the above conditions, with the only difference that instead of paying a direct contribution of the local value of three days' work, it will be necessary to pay one of the value of ten days'.

The deputies appointed by the primary assemblies will meet in the commune seat town, and since we have considered the communes to be the first political units that must compete and balance each other in order to form the legislation, it is necessary that the three elements of proportional representation enter into the composition of their deputations.

This is where to explain how the three bases of territory, population and contribution can be combined with as much justice in the results as ease in the process.

The territorial basis is invariable, and supposedly equal; those of population and contributions are variable, and of unequal effect in each commune. One can therefore attribute to each of the nine communes an equal and fixed share of deputation, in proportion to their territory, attach two other shares of deputation, one to the total population of the department, the other to the entire mass of its direct contribution, and make each commune participate in these last two shares of deputation, in proportion to what it has in population, and what it pays in contribution.

Thus, supposing that the general assembly of the department, which it is a question of forming here, should be composed of 81 deputies from the communes, it would be necessary to attach invariably one third of them, amounting to 27, to the territory of the department, and consequently 3 to the territory of each commune; each of the 9 communal assemblies would thus equally appoint 3 deputies, in proportion to its territory.

It would then be necessary to apportion 27 deputies to the total population of the department, and to divide this population into 27 parts, so that each commune would appoint as many deputies as it had twenty-seventh parts of population.

The other 27 deputies would be attached to the contribution in direct taxes; and this contribution being divided in the same way into 27 parts, would give as many deputies to each commune, as it would pay twenty-sevenths in the total mass of direct taxes.

The population of each department will be easily known, since that of each commune will be ascertained by the number of deputies who will have arrived there from the primary assemblies. The contribution will also be known, since the departments and the communes will have the administration of the tax in their territories. At the time of the first formation of the assemblies, the communes that did not have this knowledge could easily acquire it by communicating these clarifications to each other before proceeding with the elections.

The departmental assemblies would appoint the deputies to the National Assembly by the same procedure, at the rate of 9 deputies per department; this would bring 720 deputies to the National Assembly.

Of the 720 national deputies, the third amounting to 240 would be attached to the territory, and would invariably give three deputies per department. The second third of 240 would be distributed over the total population of the kingdom, which, divided into two hundred and forty parts, would give as many deputies to each department as it had two hundred and fortieth parts of population.

Finally, the 240 other deputies would be granted to the contribution, so that by dividing the total mass of the direct impositions of the kingdom in two hundred and forty parts, each department would have one deputy for the payment of a two hundred and fortieth part.

The committee thinks that to be eligible to the National Assembly, it is necessary to pay a direct contribution, equivalent to the value of a silver marc.

It still believes that it is a severe foresight at first glance, but wise and necessary, that no representative can be elected for the second time, until after the interval of an intermediate legislature, in order to avoid the aristocracy of families in credit, which manage to perpetuate themselves in the jobs, even elective. The experience of all times and all countries demonstrates this danger.

The plan that has just been outlined for the formation of assemblies and gradual elections has met with the approval of your committee, because it appears to produce three great advantages.

The first is to establish in the surest manner, and by the most just principles, an exactly proportional representation among all the parts of the kingdom, by including all the elements of which it must necessarily be composed.

The second is to establish a constitutional method for maintaining the established proportion, the principle of which, remaining unalterable and permanent, will always lend itself in application to all variations in population and contributions.

The third is to be able to apply the same method to the formation of the provincial assemblies; so that a uniform movement would bring the national representation to the Legislative Body, and the provincial representation to the administrative assemblies.

This first part of our work does not limit itself to offering you the supplement that was necessary to complete the Constitution in the legislative order; it also presents you with provisions that are all prepared to hasten the establishment of the internal regime of the provinces.

Draft order relating to this first part of the work.

Art. I. France shall be divided into divisions of 324 square leagues each,^[2] that is, of eighteen by eighteen, as far as it will be possible, starting from Paris, as the center, and moving away in all directions to the borders of the kingdom. These divisions shall be called departments.

Art. 2. Each department shall be divided into nine divisions of 36 square leagues in area, that is, of six by six, as much as it is possible. These divisions shall be called communes.

Art. 3. Each commune shall be divided into nine divisions, called cantons, of four square leagues, that is, of two by two.

Art. 4. All active citizens, that is to say, all those who meet the following requirements: 1° to be born French, or to have become French; 2° to be of the age of majority; 3° to have been domiciled in the canton for at least one year; 4° to pay a direct contribution of the local value of three days of work; 5° not to be in a servile condition at the time, shall have the right to assemble to form the primary assemblies in the cantons.

Art. 5. No citizen may be able to exercise the rights of active citizen in more than one place, and in any assembly no one may be be able to be represented by another.

Art. 6 In every canton there shall be at least one primary assembly.

Art. 7 As long as the number of active citizens of a canton does not reach 900, there shall be only one assembly in this canton; but as soon as the number reaches 900, there shall be two assemblies of at least 450 each.

Art. 8. Each assembly shall always tend to form itself as much as possible at the number of 600, which will be the average rate; in such a way that, if there are several assemblies in a canton, the least numerous will be at least 450. Thus, beyond 900, but before 1050, there could not be a complete assembly of 600, since the second would have less than 450. From the number 1,050 and beyond, the first assembly will be of 600, and the second of 450, at most. If the number rises to 1,400, there will be only two, one of 600 and the other of 800; but at 1,500 there will be three, one of 600 and two of 450; and so on, according to the number of active citizens of each canton.

Art. 9 All the primary assemblies of each canton shall depute directly to the assembly of their commune.

Art. 10. In order to be eligible to the communal assembly, as well as to that of the department, it will be necessary to combine the conditions of elector, that is to say of active citizen, with that of paying a higher direct contribution: this contribution will amount to at least the local value of ten days of work.

Art. 11. Each primary assembly will depute to the commune one member for each 200 voters.

Art. 12. The communal assembly, formed by the deputies of the primary assemblies, shall choose its deputies for the department, among all the eligible citizens of the commune.

Art. 13. Each assembly of department will be composed of 81 members, of which a third, that is to say 27, will be deputies by the 9 communes of the department, according to the territory; it will be thus 3 deputies by commune, since the territories of the communes are equal among them, being composed of an equal number of equal cantons.

Art. 14. The second third forming 27 deputies will be sent by the 9 communes, according to the active population of each commune. Thus, the total sum of the population of the 9 communes or of the department will be divided into 27 parts; and each commune will have as many deputies as it will contain of these twenty-sevenths.

Art. 15. The third third shall be distributed by a similar operation in proportion to the respective contribution of the 9 communes. The total sum of the direct contributions of the 9 communes, or of the department, will be divided into 27; and each commune will send a deputy for each twenty-seventh that it will pay.

Art. 16 These last two operations necessarily giving place to fractions, the weakest fractions will not be counted, because they compensate each other.

Art. 17. The assemblies of department shall form by their deputies the National Assembly, which shall be composed of 720 members.

Art. 18. One third of this number, that is to say 240, shall be sent by the departments on the basis of the territory; 240 on the basis of the population, and 240 on the basis of the respective contribution, as it was said above with respect to the communes, but by dividing among the departments the population of the kingdom and the whole mass of the direct contribution into 240 parts.

Art 19. No member of the National Assembly may be reelected for the following Assembly. It shall be necessary that between two elections of the same person, there is at least one Assembly of interval.

Signed: thouret, the abbot sieyès, target, the bishop of autun, démeunier, rabaut de saint-étienne, le chapellier

Mr. Thouret then presented the second part of the report of the new Constitutional Committee concerning the establishment of administrative assemblies and municipalities.

Establishment of the administrative assemblies.

I

The assemblies of this new class will differ in several respects from those we have discussed so far.

They will be charged with that part of the executive power which is ordinarily designated by the term administration; and the former will have the simple mission of gradually electing the national representatives, members of the Legislative Body.

They will be permanent, and will be regenerated every two years by half; the first time by lot, after two years of service, and then, the second time in turn of seniority; the first will have existence only for the object and the time of the elections to the National Assembly, after which they will be annihilated.

The latter, formed solely in the order of the national legislature, will be the regenerating elements of the Legislative Body; the others, on the contrary, instituted in the order of the executive power, will be its instruments and organs. Subordinate directly to the King, as the supreme administrator, they will receive his orders, and will transmit them, execute them, and conform to them. This immediate submission of the administrative assemblies to the head of the general administration is necessary; without it, there would soon be no more accuracy or uniformity in the executive regime, and the monarchical government that the nation has just confirmed would degenerate into democracy in the interior of the provinces.

The committee thinks that an administrative assembly could be established in each of the 80 departments, under the title of provincial administration; a title that would constantly remind us of the object of this institution. The division of the jurisdictions of these assemblies would make no necessary change in the old distinction of the provinces.

Each provincial administration could be divided into two sections, the first of which would be like the council, and, by some means, the legislature; and the second, in charge of all the executive part, would be the real acting body, under the title of provincial directory, or intermediate commission.

The provincial council would hold an annual session, in which it would establish the principles suitable for each part of the administration, order the work and general expenditures of the department, and receive an account of the management of the directory: but its decrees would not be enforceable until they had been approved and confirmed by the King.

The directory would always be active for the conduct, supervision and dispatch of all business. It would be required to comply with the decrees of the provincial council approved by the king, and would render an annual account of its management.

The committee considered whether each provincial administration should first be formed into a single body of assembly, which would then divide itself into two sections by electing, from its own members, those who would make up the directory; or whether it would not be preferable for the electors to designate, in electing, those deputies whom they would appoint for the council, and those whom they would designate for the directory. It opted for the first opinion, because by handing over the nomination of the members of the directory to the voters of the communes, it would necessarily be necessary that each commune nominate a subject of its district. However, it would often be difficult to find, in all the communes, citizens who are both capable of the functions of the directory, and willing to leave their homes to go and settle in the chief town of the department, following the operations of the directory, with the assiduity that they demand. It is necessary to have as much regard for the suitability of the subjects, as for their capacity, when it is a question of attaching them effectively to a daily service, which does not suffer interruption. The members of the assemblies will be in a better position than the electors to make the best choices in this twofold respect, since they will have been able, during the entirety of their session, to test the talents of their colleagues, and to ascertain their dispositions for the service of the directory.

The committee then discussed whether the members elected to the directory could join with those of the council to form the general assembly at each annual session, and have a sitting with a deliberative vote at this general assembly; or whether the two sections of each provincial administration would remain so absolutely distinct that the members of the directory, limited to simple execution, would never have either a sitting or a right to vote with those of the council. It still decided on the first of these opinions, because it seemed to it that the members of the directory, deprived of entering and voting in the deliberative assembly, and thus reduced to being only executors and accountables, would soon be considered, less as members of the administration than as its agents and servants. The prejudice of this kind of degradation would depreciate, in public opinion, important functions, for which it is necessary to provoke and encourage the zeal of the principal citizens. Moreover, the exclusion of the members of the directory would deprive the administration of the help of their lights, become more invaluable by the experience which the usual practice of the business gives. The committee thought, however, that the common meeting and the right of suffrage could be granted to the members of the board of directors only after they had rendered an account of their management, which would always be the first operation of each session.

II

There would likewise be in the chief town of each commune an administrative assembly, under the title of communal administration, in the same way divided into two sections, one for the council, the other for the execution. All that has just been said of the superior assembly applies also to the communal assemblies for the subordinate administration of their districts. They will be entirely subject to the provincial administrations, which they will match; and their directorates will be subject in the same way to the provincial directorates.

The communal administrations shall receive the orders of the King through the channel of the provincial administrations or of their directorates; and they shall comply with them. They shall obey the orders of the provincial administrations and the decisions of their directorates. They will address petitions to them on all the objects of their competence which will interest each commune, and will be exact in providing the instructions which will be requested of them. The complete subordination of the communal assemblies to those of the department is no less necessary for the unity of the executive regime, than the immediate subordination of the latter to the authority of the King.

III

To compose, the first time, the communal administrative assemblies, the committee proposes that, after the provisional demarcation of the territorial divisions, the primary assemblies be formed in the 9 cantons of each commune, as it was said above for the elections in the legislative order. They will send to the communal seat town one deputy per 100 voters.

The deputies of the 9 united cantons will elect 26 persons who will compose the communal administration; and they will choose them as much among themselves, as within the number of the other eligible inhabitants in the commune, by observing to take at least 2 in each canton.

The members composing the communal administration will elect, among themselves, at the end of their first session, 6 of them to form the directory.

From two years to two years, when it will be necessary to regenerate half of each communal administration, the primary assemblies will be formed again in the cantons, to appoint their deputies who will elect in replacement of the administrators who have left office.

Each communal assembly will also renew its directory, by half, every two years.

IV

As soon as the 9 communal assemblies have been formed, they will name the 64 members who will make up the provincial assembly, at the rate of 6 deputies per commune; and they will follow the same procedure that has been established for the proportional representation in the deputations to the Legislative Body.

Of the 54 deputies to the provincial administration, 18 forming a third will be attached to the territory, and each commune will appoint 2 equally. 18 deputies will be attributed to the population of the department, and the lastt 18 to its direct contribution. Each commune would appoint as many deputies in these last two divisions, as it had parts of population or contribution, by dividing the population and the direct contribution of the department into 18 parts.

The communal assemblies could appoint deputies to the provincial administration, either from among themselves, or from the other eligible inhabitants of the department. In the case that they nominate one of them, those of their members that they will have elected will be replaced in the communal administration of which they were part. The electors nominated for the primary assemblies of the cantons will then be obliged to gather without delay, to make these replacements by way of elections.

The members composing the provincial administration will elect from among themselves, at the end of their first session, 10 of them to form the provincial directory.

Every two years, half of the deputies to the provincial administration will leave office, observing to remove, as far as possible, half of those who have been sent by each of the nine communes; and the communal assemblies will proceed with the replacements by the same method they will have followed the first time for the composition of the provincial administration.

There will always be 27 deputies, making half of the 54. Of these deputies to be replaced, 9 forming the third will be attached to the territory, and each commune will name one. 9 other deputies will be attributed to the population, and the last 9 to the direct contribution; so that the population of the department and the mass of its direct contribution being divided into nine parts, each commune would name a replacement deputy per ninth of population and of contribution. Thus the first proportion established in the deputation would be the same; and the representation, being always equally distributed among the nine communes, in spite of the variability of their respective position, would be maintained constantly in balance.

The provincial directory would also be regenerated every two years by half.

Since the essential object of the Constitution is to define and separate the various powers, the committee believes that extra care must be taken to ensure that the administrative assemblies can neither be disturbed in the exercise of the authority entrusted to them, nor exceed its limits. It is not enough that the purpose of their establishment be indicated denominationally by their qualification as provincial or communal administration; it still seems necessary that it be constitutionally ruled by express provisions: 1° that they are in the class of agents of the executive power, and depositaries of the king's authority to administer in his name and under his orders; 2° that they may not exercise any part either of the legislative power or of the judicial power; 3° that they may not grant to the king, nor create at the expense of the provinces, any kind of taxes for any reason or under any name whatsoever; 4° that they may not distribute any of them except up to the amount granted by the Legislature, and only for the time that it shall have fixed; 5° that they may not be crossed or stopped, in their administrative functions, by any act of the judicial power.

Establishment of municipalities.

We have seen so far that in each commune the national representation for the legislature, and the provincial representation for the general administration, draw their elements from the primary assemblies. These two establishments together make up the great national edifice. It is on the same basis, that is, on the same foundation of the primary assemblies, that a second political edifice must be built, which is the municipal constitution.

Let us begin by clearly defining the nature of this constitution. The municipal system, limited exclusively to the care of the particular, and so to speak private, affairs of each municipalized jurisdiction, cannot enter in any respect, either into the system of national representation, or into that of general administration. Since the communes must be the first units in the representative order, which goes back to the legislature, and the last in the order of executive power, which goes down and ends at them, each municipality is no more in the State than a simple individual whole, always governed; and these separate wholes, independent of one another, never being able to unite, cannot be elementary of any of the governing powers.

If it is important to give the nation the energy and power necessary to defend its liberty, and to give the municipalities a useful and respectable consistency in their territories, this double consideration must lead you to constitute the 720 large communes of the kingdom into as many municipal bodies.

You would thus have only seven hundred and twenty units for bases, both of the municipal regime, and of the national representation and the general administration. You would thereby increase the strength of each municipality by bringing together at a single point all those of the same territory that their present dispersion reduces to inertia. Instead of weakening the national vigor by dividing the people into small corporations, in which all generous feeling is stifled by that of impotence, create rather large aggregations of citizens united by habitual relationships, confident and strong by this union; Enlarge the spheres where the first civic attachments are formed; and let the community interest, so close to the individual interest, so flexible under the influence of men on credit, when its means are weak and its object too limited, come closer to the public spirit by acquiring more power and elevation.

If you agree with this view, the institution of town halls and village municipalities, as we see it today, should be entirely reformed. The difference in nature and purpose between the general administration and the principal regime would probably not permit the latter to rest in the administrative assembly of each commune; but the primary assemblies, formed, as has been said, for representation, would appoint deputies to compose a municipal assembly at the chief town of the commune.

This assembly would be the administrative board, and would exercise a kind of legislature for the government of the small municipal state, composed of the entire territory of the commune; and the executive power, both for the maintenance of general regulations and for the execution of particular affairs within the jurisdiction of the municipality, would be given to a mayor elected by all the primary assemblies.

The municipal council would decide, throughout its jurisdiction, on all matters relating to the municipal police, safety, health, the management and use of municipal revenues, local expenditures, minor street repairs, beautification projects, etc. This authority of the council would thus extend not only to things common to the entire district, but also to things particular to each city, town or parish, which would address its requests or petitions to it. The towns and country parishes would each have an agency under the title of municipal board, which would look after their local interests, and correspond for their needs with the council of the common municipality. Finally, the mayor, head of the municipal executive power, accountable and responsible for his functions to the council, would have his decisions executed by the municipal offices that would be subordinate to him.

This system of municipalities would provide a host of advantages of which they have not seemed susceptible until now. The weakness of those that now exist, except in a few large cities, exposes them to being easily seduced by intrigue, or subjugated by authority: hence the dissipation of common funds, reckless undertakings, debts raised beyond the means, and so many deliberations inspired by the particular spirit to the ruin of the general interest. How many municipalities in the countryside are not at the mercy of the lords, or of the priests, or of some notables! How many, in the small towns, are not dominated by the credit of the principal townspeople! Let us expect nothing from these administrations that are too weak to remain independent; the only way to emancipate municipal authority is to distribute it in larger masses, and to make the bodies that will be its depositories more enlightened and more powerful, by making them less numerous. Then they could become useful, under an infinite number of other public relations, either for the police, or for the administration of the tax, or for the inspection and employment of the national guard, and interior militia, since they would offer in each district of a certain extent centers of unique power and of uniform regime.

The agencies or offices of municipality necessary in each city or parish would be composed in the cities, of four members, when the population would be 4,000 souls and under; of six members, from 4,000 souls to 20,000; of eight members, from 20,000 souls to 50,000; of ten members, from 50,000 souls to 100,000; and of twelve members above 100,000 souls. They could be composed in the countryside of four members, including the syndic, in the parishes of 150 households; of six members, including the syndic, in those from 150 households to 300; and of eight members including the syndic, above 300 households.

To elect the members of the municipal offices, all the active citizens will meet in the cities in primary assemblies, and in the countryside in general parish assemblies.

Every two years, the municipal offices would be regenerated by half: the first time by lot, and the second time in turn by seniority.

The committee thought necessary to limit itself today to presenting you with these fundamental points of its work. Pressed by your just eagerness to deal with this important matter, it hastened to submit its first views to you, and it must await the judgment you must make, so as not to continue, perhaps uselessly, to build on foundations that your approval has not consolidated.

The nature of the functions to be entrusted both to the administrative assemblies and to the municipalities, the subsequent details of their organization, the service they will be able to provide for the handling of the tax, from the distribution to the payment of its products, will undoubtedly merit particular attention; but what would be practicable in the plan proposed to you, could cease to be so, in several respects, if this plan underwent essential changes.

The committee has the honor to present to you the draft of some articles, the decision of which is necessary to regulate the continuation of its work.

Art. 20. A superior administrative assembly shall be established in the seat town of each department, under the title of Provincial Administration.

Art. 21. A lower administrative assembly shall be established in the seat town of each commune, under the title of Communal Administration.

Art. 22. To compose each communal Administration, all the active citizens shall meet in primary assemblies, in each of the nine cantons of the commune, in the same form established for the elections to the Legislative Body; and they shall name 1 deputy elector per 100 voters.

Art. 23. The electors nominated by the primary assemblies shall meet to appoint 26 members, of which each Communal Administration shall be composed.

Art. 24. The electors can choose these 26 members, as much among themselves as in the number of the other eligible inhabitants of the commune; but they shall observe to take at least 2 in each canton.

Art. 25. The nine communal administrations of each department shall elect the members who compose the Provincial Administration, amounting to 54.

Art. 26. Of the 54 members to elect to form the provincial administration, 18 shall be elected on the basis of the territory, and each commune shall appoint 2 of them. 18 shall be appointed on the basis of the active population of the department, divided into eighteen parts; and each commune shall send as many deputies as it contains of these eighteen parts, finally the 18 others shall be appointed on the basis of the direct contribution of the department, divided into eighteen parts; and each commune shall elect as many deputies as it pays out of these eighteen parts.

Art. 27. The communal administrations shall be able to appoint the deputies to the provincial administration, either from among themselves, or from the number of the other eligible inhabitants of the department; and, in the case where they have elected from among themselves, the electors appointed by the primary assemblies shall gather, without delay, to replace, in each communal administration, the members elected for the provincial administration.

Art. 28. Each administration, whether provincial or communal, shall be permanent; and the members shall be renewed, by half, every two years; the first time by lot, after the first two years of exercise, and thereafter in turn by seniority.

Art. 29. The members of the administrative assemblies will be in office for four years, except for those who will leave by the first renewal by lot, after the first two years.

Art. 30. When it is necessary to regenerate half of each communal administration, the primary assemblies shall be formed in the cantons to appoint their electors, at the rate of one for every hundred voters; and these electors shall proceed to the replacements, sending back to the communal administration as many members of each canton as will have left it.

Art. 31. The communal administrations shall proceed every two years to the renewal, by half, of each provincial administration, as will be stated in the following article.

Art. 32. Of the 27 members, making half of 54, who will leave at each renewal, 9 will be replaced for territory, and each commune will name 1. 9 will be replaced for the active population of the department divided in nine parts, and attributing 1 deputy by ninth; the 9 others will be replaced for the direct contribution of the department, divided in the same way in nine parts, and attributing 1 deputy by ninth.

Art. 33 Each provincial administration shall be divided into two sections: one, under the title of Provincial Council, shall hold an annual session for one month, or more, if the necessity of business requires it, to determine the rules of each part of the administration, and to order the work and the general expenses of the department; the other, under the title of Provincial Directory, shall be always active for the execution of business, and shall render an account of its management every year to the municipal council.

Art. 34. The members of each provincial administration shall elect, at the end of their first session, 10 of them, to compose the provincial directory, and they shall regenerate it every two years, by half; the 44 other members shall form the provincial council.

Art. 35. At the opening of each annual session, the provincial council shall begin by hearing and receiving the account of the management of the directory; then the members of the directory shall meet and have the right to vote with those of the council.

Art. 36. Each communal administration shall be divided in the same way into two sections, one, under the name of Communal Council, the other, under that of Communal Directory, composed of 6 members. All that is prescribed by the preceding articles for the election, the regeneration, the right of sitting and deliberative vote of the members of the provincial directory, will take place in the same way for those of the communal directory.

Art. 37. The administrative assemblies, being instituted in the order of the executive power, shall be the agents of this power. They shall be the depositories of the authority of the King, as head of the general administration, and shall act in his name and under his orders, and shall be entirely subordinate to him. Their decrees shall not be enforceable until they have been approved and confirmed by the King.

Art. 38. They shall not be able to exercise either the legislative power or the judicial power; to grant to the King, nor to establish at the expense of the provinces, any tax, for whatever cause or under whatever name; to distribute any tax beyond the amount granted or the time fixed by the Legislature; and they shall not be disturbed in the exercise of their administrative functions by any act of the judicial power.

Art. 39. The municipalities currently existing in each city, town, parish or community, under the title of city halls, town halls, aldermen's offices, consulates, and generally under any title and qualification whatsoever, are abolished; however, the municipal officers, currently in office, shall continue their functions until they have been replaced.

Art. 40. The district of each commune that will be established according to the above territorial division, will form in the future the jurisdiction of one and the same municipality.

Art. 41. All the active citizens of the municipalized communal district shall form themselves into primary assemblies, to nominate one deputy by each primary assembly; and these deputies together shall compose, in the commune seat town, the municipal assembly of the entire district.

Art. 42. This municipal assembly shall be the Council of Administration, which shall establish for the entire extent of its jurisdiction the rules of the common regime, and shall decide on all that concerns the municipal police, its internal security, sanitary policy, the management and use of municipal revenues, local expenditures, and generally all that is within the jurisdiction of the municipalities.

Art. 43. The active power shall be entirely, and for all the extent of the municipal district, in the hands of the mayor and his lieutenant, who shall be elected immediately by the primary assemblies.

Art. 44. When the primary assemblies proceed to the election of the mayor and his lieutenant, there shall be kept, by the secretary of each one of them, an exact list of all the names that came out of the ballot, indicative of the number of votes carried by each name. These sealed lists shall be sent to the municipal assembly, which shall declare the result of the elections by the plurality of the votes collected in all the primary assemblies.

Art. 45. The municipal assembly will be regenerated every two years by half: the first time by lot, after the first two years and then in turn by seniority. The mayor and his lieutenant shall be in office for two years; but they may be continued by a new election.

Art. 46. There shall be in each city, town or parish, a municipal office to govern the common goods, and to provide for local needs. These offices shall address themselves to the municipal assembly for all that will be of its competence as council of the municipal administration; and they shall be subordinated to the mayor and to his lieutenant for the executive part.

Art. 47. The municipal office shall be composed in the cities of 4 members, when the population is 4,000 souls and under; of 6 members, from 4,000 souls to 20,000; of 8 members, from 20,000 souls to 50,000; of 10 members, from 50,000 souls to 100,000, and of 12 members, above 100,000 souls.

Art. 48. To elect the members of the municipal office in the cities, all active citizens shall assemble, and vote in primary assemblies.

Art. 49. The municipal office shall be composed, in the country towns and parishes, of 4 members, including the syndic, in the parishes of 150 inhabitants and under; of 6 members, including the syndic, in those from 150 inhabitants to 300; and of 8 members, including the syndic, in those above 300 inhabitants.

Art. 50. In the country parishes, the election of the members of the municipal office shall be made by the general assembly of all the active citizens of each parish.

Art. 51. The municipal offices shall be renewed every two years by half; the first time by lot, after the first two years of service, and then by turn of seniority.

Signed: Thouret, the abbot Sieyès, Target, the bishow of Autun, Demeunier, Rabaud de Saint-étienne, Le Chapelier

1. The servile state, excluded here, cannot be understood, in any respect, of the former main-mortables, whose servitude was anyhow abolished by the decree of the National Assembly of last August 4.
2. The league used is the common league of 2,400 toises (3,898 meters—TN)